Put down that bottle of fake-out syrup (shame on you, Aunt Jemima! I don’t know where that stuff comes from, but it’s certainly not from a tree.)

And no one. (Not even a single artery!)

Will.Get.Hurt.

Breakfast is supposedly the most important meal of the day.

And while I still maintain that that position has already been filled…I concede that, for most people, eating a good healthy breakfast helps them to stay on track and eat a good healthy lunch, which helps them to not eat five Snickers and a bag of chips out of the vending machine at work, which helps them to feel alert and energized enough to go to the gym after work, which helps them to not binge on bad Chinese take-out for dinner.

It’s a Domino effect. Or a spiral to hell, depending on whether you’ve started off your day with five sausage links and an egg mcmuffin…or this breakfast bowl.

I won’t tell you which breakfast leads to which end.

But I think you can guess which one I’d rather eat.

The idea for this recipe came about when I stumbled upon the MarxFoods Beans For Breakfast recipe contest. Outside of the US, many other cultures enjoy really savory breakfast dishes…almost dinner-for-breakfast kind of affairs, and I knew this was a concept I really wanted to embrace in my entry. Then, when I realized that this week’s Food Matters Project recipe was hummus…everything just clicked.

What resulted was a Middle Eastern-spiced breakfast bowl filled with all kinds of nutrient-, fiber-, and protein-rich vegetable and legume deliciousness, topped with a hummus “dressing” and a fried egg. Though they certainly have a time and a place, pancakes, muffins and French toast will never seem like the better breakfast alternative ever again.

Note – while this recipe seems like a lot of effort for breakfast, the barley/veggie/bean base can be made and dressed the night before so that all you have to do in the morning is spend three minutes frying an egg! And for the original hummus recipe, please check out Erin’s blog!

In a large pot, cover beans with salted water by 1-inch and then bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until beans are tender. In the last five minutes of cooking, add in the swiss chard leaves. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, toss the eggplant and butternut squash with za’atar, a teensy bit of olive oil, and a large pinch of salt. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and set aside.

Bring 4 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Add barley to the boiling water. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover, cooking, for 35-40 minutes or until barley is tender but still chewy. Drain out excess water.

In a large bowl, toss together the beans, swiss chard, eggplant, butternut squash, and barley.

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas tahini, garlic, olive oil, and 1/4 cup water. Pulse until pureed, adding more water until desired consistency is reached. Add in the lemon juice and paprika. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Fry eggs in a non-stick skillet, sunny side up. Distribute the barley mix among 6 bowls. Top each bowl with one egg and a drizzle of hummus.

Disclosure: I received the Mayacoba beans for free from MarxFoods. I received no monetary compensation for this post, however, and my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.

I am drooling on my desk a bit (and feeling a bit sad that I ate yogurt and granola for breakfast instead of this…) It looks so good. I often toss leftover beans into a scramble or reheat them while I pan-cook some veggies and put an egg on top for breakfast on the weekends. This looks way better than what I normally throw together.

Who cares about breakfast? This can be eaten any time of the day, Joanne!! Actually, I do care about breakfast, except it is mostly oatmeal for me. Eating your biggest meal for breakfast is probably not a bad idea! A great way to start the day! 🙂

Yup, if you start your day in the right direction, it will lead to great things! Hehe. This breakfast is amazing! Lately I’ve been just eating a big bowl of fruit salad with cheese, honey and amaranth. Everything I need to start my day is in those bowls.

I love the idea of having beans for breakfast. I made something like this awhile back (except I didn’t add veggies). It was a bean porridge recipe from Mollie Katzen. At any rate, I loved it and your version looks ten times better with the added veggies and spices. I’d like to try za’atar one day!

Honestly, the only thing that makes me eat better throughout the day is when I exercise 1st thing in the morning. If I skip a workout, all bets are off and I usually end up with a spoon and a tub of Cool Whip by mid-afternoon. It ain’t pretty. Having said that, I am a total breakfast eater. And I love a runny egg with toast. Ooooh ya!

What a delicious looking breakfast! I’ve never heard of za`atar before. I’m not usually a huge fan of swiss chard (except in soups) but this sounds like it is cooked just enough to be perfect. Nice meal. I love a savory breakfast!

I grew up with a lot of savory breakfasts from the Philippines (think fried egg, garlic rice, salted fish, beef tenderloin, etc) and while I tend to prefer my breakfast on the sweet side, I definitely crave for savory (and healthy) breakfasts often, too. This sounds great, I love egg and hummus together.

I don’t know what happened to me but I can’t eat eggs anymore they make me feel sick. That doesn’t stop me from craving them and giving in every now and then in hopes that my body has changed its mind. The next time I give eggs a shot, I will try this recipe. It looks really good!Holy Cannoli Recipes

This is so creative! My breakfast is usually yogurt and granola because I don’t leave myself enough time to do anything other than pour a couple things in a bowl, but this would be great for weekends.. I love the idea of starting your day with lots of protein and nutrients, I just always forget to make the effort to do so!

Strangely, I have a sweet tooth in the mornings (though I favor savory the rest of the day!). But this sounds like an awesome dinner as well.(And I’ll add that I’m combating that morning sweet tooth with veggie juice at 7:45, so I’m not giving in!)

I have never understood pancakes, waffles or french toast. Sweet breakfast is just not for me. We visited Israel about 8 years ago and I loved having pita and hummus and a tomato/cucumber salad for breakfast every morning. Looks good to me!

This is exactly the kind of breakfast that I love… I just don’t enjoy cereal and I’m not that fond of sweet stuff either. When I was in Israel, I ate a lot of dishes like this and it really changed the way I looked at food.

I never liked sweet breakfasts…crazy, right! I rather order eggs and then sneak one bite or a few of something sweet from someone else! This dish looks delicious, I am sure that it is a great way to start the day!

I so agree with you and Aunt Jemima. How they heck can people think that is syrup! These pictures are gorgeous Joanne! That egg looks wonderful on top! And this totally would make a wonderful breakfast AND lunch AND dinner 🙂

I just saw Mayacoba beans at my Winco for the first time on Saturday, and wondered how to use them. Lo and behold, you do the perfect post on Monday. Wow. Inspired, you are. 🙂 I will definitely be trying this recipe. It looks muy delicioso. 🙂

Breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day. Mostly because I love lunch, appetizers, dinner and snacks so much but this bowl is awesome! I could happily devour that for breakfast anyway of the week! Nice 🙂

This is exactly the type of breakfast we would eat in our house. I love all the flavors. Hummus for breakfast is new to me but I happen to have a yummy tahini dressing already made that I’ll have to give a go tomorrow.

I really like the dinner for breakfast concept but I am so slow at dinner that I would need to prepare this the night before (is that what you did!) – but I liked the idea of a platter of veg and bread and cheese in Turkey when I visited there years ago so I get where you are coming from. A bowl of goodness is a far better way to start the day than a pile of carbs!

You’re my hero! Seriously, I’m in love. With this breakfast, and with you. 🙂 I have had pie for breakfast on a couple occasions, which is even worse than French Toast or pancakes (at least, my pie is-lol), and was able to still eat healthy the rest of the day but it was HARD. All I wanted to do was eat the entire pie the rest of the day. Eating that much junk first thing really does set you up for a terrible day of eating. This is much better!

My mom and I were just having a conversation the other day about how what you have for breakfast really makes an impact on what you eat the rest of the day. (Says the girl who just posted cinnamon biscuits… I know…) I’m all for a hearty breakfast like this – especially with that egg on top!